St. Brigid of Kildare Gathering Festival to be Opened by the Mayor of Kildare

The St. Brigid of Kildare Gathering festival is to be officially opened by the Mayor of Kildare on Sunday. Mayor Mark Wall will be in attendance at 2pm on Sunday at the Town Square where he will welcome overseas visitors, visitors from around the country and residents of Kildare Town to the first St. Brigid of Kildare Gathering Festival.

The opening event promises to be a very enjoyable afternoon for all the family with a dance performance from the children of Scoil Rince Cill Dara, and plenty of music and celebration.

The festival involves a week- long celebration of St. Brigid and her legacy and runs from Sunday 15th September to Saturday 21st September. The festival will see large numbers of visitors to Kildare Town to celebrate the story of Brigid and enjoy music, dance, workshops, readings and pilgrimages. Sr. Phil O’Shea of Solas Bhríde said they were delighted that many groups from Kildare Town were involved in organising events over the course of the week “between the Curragh Racecourse, The National Stud, Kildare Heritage Centre, Kildare Town Library and many others, almost everyone is getting involved in some way or another, we are thrilled”.

The highlight of the week is expected to be the final day attempt to set the Guinness World Record for the most people to weave St. Brigid’s crosses at the same time in the same location. Registration for the world record challenge is available in person through Solas Bhríde or Kildare Heritage Centre or online at www.solasbhride.ie and by post using the postcard registration form, which was delivered to all homes in Kildare Town over the past few weeks. A limited number of registrations will be available on the day of the event. A cover charge of €5 applies (Students €3) and to ensure the attempt meets the strict Guinness World Record criteria, participants are asked to attend one of the practice workshop scheduled for the Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday of festival week if they are not already familiar with weaving a Brigid’s cross.
Contact for enquiries: Mary Minehan / Phil O’Shea, Solas Bhríde 045 522 890 / info@solasbhride.ie